Estate Planning
Estate planning is the process of arranging for your care if you become incapacitated in the future and for the transfer of your property to the persons you wish in the manner you want.
An effective estate plan helps you control what happens to you, your family and your wealth. It allows your wishes to be carried out while minimizing costs and conflicts. A well prepared estate plan allows your family to carry out your financial and health care desires without court proceedings if you become incapacitated. It also lets you transfer your property as you wish after your death, select guardians for your minor children, designate trustees to manage your assets until your children or other beneficiaries have the maturity to manage them for themselves, to eliminate the need for probate court proceedings and to minimize the burden of death taxes.
Estate planning is not just for the rich or the elderly. Many life events may benefit from the advice of a qualified estate planing attorney including divorce, remarriage, the birth of a child, the sale of real estate or personal property, or the acquisition or sale of a business Whether you are of modest means, wealthy or ultra-rich; whether you are single, married or in a domestic partnership; childless, raising a large or blended family, or enjoying your grandchildren, a qualified estate planing attorney can tailor a plan for your specific needs and goals.
Estate planing is particularly important to owners of closely held businesses and other illiquid property. Without proper planing these assets may be drained by probate administration costs, taxes and intra-family strife.
Our goal is to design a plan that provides solutions tailored to each client’s specific family and tax-related desires and needs. We provide advice on estate and gift tax planning techniques and on our client’s personal and non-tax goals and concerns. We also advise clients concerning the creation of estate plans that can provide appropriate asset protection, both for the client during his or her lifetime and for the client’s family after the client’s death.
We provide a wide range of estate planing services to a diverse clientele of ranging from persons of modest means to the very wealthy. Our services include, among other things:
“Core” Estate Planning
Wills to designate guardians of minor children, appoint executors and provide for the disposition of estates.
Revocable (“living”) trusts to provide for the administration and distribution of property during the client’s lifetime and after death.
Durable powers of attorney to allow financial and personal management without count supervised conservatorship proceedings if you become incapacitated.
Advance health care directives and HIPAA Authorizations to appoint health care agents, express your desires regarding “life extending” treatment if you are terminally ill or permanently comatose, and express other health care wishes.
Advanced Estate Planning
Tax – sensitive wills and trusts to minimize gift and estate taxes on the transfer of assets.
“Special Needs” trusts.
Irrevocable trusts, including grantor trusts, life insurance trusts, and other devices.
Personal Residence Trusts.
“Dynasty” Trusts and other generation skipping trusts to pass property through multiple generations while minimizing gift, estate and generation skipping transfer taxes.
Family limited partnerships, limited liability companies and other business entities, to allow the preservation and future management of family held business enterprises.
Business succession planing, including, gifts and sales of assets to family trusts or other entities, grantor retained interest trusts and other devices.
Charitable gift planning.
